Reading Comprehension for SBI PO/Clerk Mains 2018: 12 July 2018

Reading Comprehension is just about careful reading of passage and questions given. Thus Reading Comprehension plays a vital role in getting the best score in English Section, one need to deal it with proper strategy and accuracy. Right now, the questions asked in this head require good practise. Only after practicing well, you will be able to score better and in least time. Here is another set of RC Questions to improve your speed and accuracy. Make most of it.

Directions (1-8): Read the following passage carefully and answer the given questions.

Cash is a small part of the black money problem. Similarly, those involved are a fraction of Indians. In light of this, demonetisation can seem an extreme step. With this ‘clean-up’, however, there are two distinct and dependent outcomes. The first is the psychological shock of this purge, especially for those who never expected such a step. The second — while more understated, distant and esoteric as a concept — may be the most powerful tool in the hands of the government: data.

The government has made a number of statements regarding its intent of going after money launderers. They have explicitly mentioned cash deposit limits, curbs on gold transactions, real estate, activity in certain sectors, export-import and issued warnings against the misuse of accounts. It is public knowledge that the government is closely monitoring cash transactions. What is not known is that it is creating a ‘data net’ to catch and prosecute those responsible and culpable.

The basic unit of this data net is identity, which may be easily formed using PAN cards, Aadhaar cards, passports, driver’s licences and other identifiers. All transactions, exchanges and cash deposits in the banking system are connected with these identifiers. Also, there are the troves of data supplied by banks through cash transaction reports, suspicious transaction reports, foreign currency transactions, counterfeit currency reports and customer profiles to the relevant agencies.

Add to this the existing information with the tax department, the ministry of corporate affairs, customs, utilities, phone companies, land registries, certifying authorities, gas companies, municipal corporations, district authorities, education ministries, healthcare services, surveying agencies and the police and one may begin to fathom the amount of data that the government collects.

But why would this be of significance only during demonetisation? Because since the window is limited — ‘50 days’, according to the prime minister — black money owners have to act fast to salvage their black money.

This means that their activities will show a clear deviance against the normal or baseline activity. In short, the government hopes to make them desperate and act accordingly.

When data from various rich sources are combined, deep analysis can reveal patterns, spikes and interesting insights to determine perpetrators when a ‘black swan’ — sudden deviation from the normal — event takes place. Demonetisation is that event.

For instance, one may analyse cash deposit trends in Maharashtra by using a top-down approach and compare them against previous years to determine which rural areas have shown unnatural spikes in cash deposits. 2011 census data may be used to map households, poverty levels, unemployment, occupations and other economic activity indicators for districts.

A list of specific cases, entities and individuals can then be created by referencing first information reports (FIRs), income-tax reports, suspicious transaction reports, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) beneficiaries, farmer registrations, defaulters and court cases. Using the corporate ministry, one could then zero in on industries that have traditionally been conduits of money-laundering. Or one could look at major deviances between cash transactions and companies’ stated financial condition.

After this demonetisation spree, a shortlist of ‘suspicious individuals’ may be created for a deep dive into transactions, with relationship maps and linking records of land, wealth, income and businesses. Gold traders realised the implications of this. Which is why they protested the 1% excise duty in April this year — not because of any monetary concerns, but only because they knew that this would give the government access to their sales and business activities and, hence, data related to black money.

Such a data net would enable authorities with investigations even if the perpetrators are smart enough to remove or offer bogus information, since there will exist enough proxy data to connect the dots. This also begs the question that while we are anxious about the data captured by Facebook, Google and other online Goliaths, we seem to be disinterested about the massive amounts of data collected by the government of our online and offline activities.

The government will need skilled resources to mine, analyse and make sense of the massive amounts of data. This data net will be built on the backs of data scientists, domain experts and interdepartmental cooperation.

Unfortunately, while the government has a Big Data Initiatives Division under the Department of Science and Technology, it is in its nascent stages. So, it may not have the hands and minds required to follow through with this endeavour. The good news lies in the existing political resolve and the fact that globally, big data experts are overwhelmingly Indians.

This data net may be the greatest outcome of demonetisation. It would do well for us to recognise that over a billion Indians today stand inconvenienced in long snaking queues as the price for this data. In other words, cash is the bait, demonetisation the hook and data is the net.

1.What is/are the identifiers of transactions, exchanges and cash deposits in the banking system?

2.What is/are the outcomes of the demonetisation of high-value currency? Answer in the context of the passage.

1) Data net related to money and transactions
2) Psychological shock to those who had never expected such a step
3) Currency notes in new avatar
4) All 1), 2) and 3)
5) Only 1) and 2)

3.What steps have been taken by the government to curb the menace of money laundering?

(A) Cash deposit limits have been fixed.
(B) Warnings have been issued against the misuse of accounts.
(C) Rules with regard to real estate have been put in place.

1) All (A), (B) and (C)
2) Only (B)
3) Only (B) and (C)
4) Only (A) and (C)
5) Only (A)

4.Why does the government track different sources of data especially during demonetisation?

(A) Because, during the limited period for depositing old currency, the owners of the black money have to act fast to salvage their black money.
(B) Because, for fear of being caught by the government agencies, the owners of the black money best utilise their money in other than normal activities.
(C) Because during demonetisation banks are unable to provide required data to the government

1) All (A), (B) and (C)
2) Only (A) and (B)
3) Only (A) and (C)
4) Only (B) and (C)
5) Only (A)

5. How can unnatural spikes in cash deposits in a particular rural areas be analysed?

1) By latest census data related to households and poverty levels for districts
2) By using 2011 census data related to unemployment, occupations and other economic activity indicators for districts
3) By going through the cash-books of differents banks in that particular area functioning.
4) Only 1) and 2)
5) All 1), 2) and 3)

6.What is the meaning of the idiom ‘zero in’ as used in the passage?

1) to aim directly at something
2) to invest heavily
3) to withdraw the margin money
4) to take over something
5) to look into the matter of serious concerns

7.Why did gold traders protest the 1% excise duty in April this year?

(A) Because of monetary concerns
(B) Because of fear of being caught for suspicious activities during the 50 days of demonetisation
(C) Because of the bad impact of excise duty on their trade

1) Only (A) and (B)
2) Only (B)
3) Only (C)
4) All (A), (B) and (C)
5) None of these

8.Which of the following can be of great help in analysing the outcomes of the move of demonetisation?